Mr Rani (2025)

“Mr Rani” (2025) is a recently released Kannada movie by Madhu Chandra starring Deepak Subramanya, Madhu Chandra, and Parvati Nair. The feature film follows Raja, a young aspiring actor whose traditional parents force him to study engineering. After an accidental opportunity lands him a female role, he finds himself unprepared for the unexpected fallout, as he quickly rises to become the industry’s new top No. 1 actress, changing perceptions of gender and identity along the way. Loaded with humour and emotion, the film follows Raja, an impetuous youth from cosmopolitan Bengaluru, whose ambition is to become a film hero himself. Instead, fallen prey to pressure from his conservative parents to study engineering, which lands him a job at Google in the USA. Raja’s love for acting continues to shine. His travels all go as planned until he’s given the chance to star in a movie, albeit not as the leading man, instead playing the leading lady. From an unwilling first recruit to one of its strongest champions, Raja rises to the occasion, taking on the challenge like a boss in the form of ‘Rani.’ So convincing is his portrayal that he goes on to be the industry’s leading lady. As ‘Rani,’ Raja goes from a small town to being an international star, fame, gender identity and personal relationships come to a front. He further develops a personal relationship with Deepika (Parvathy Nair), a young fellow actress who admires ‘Rani’s’ performances. The documentary explores Raja’s struggle with the choice at hand, would he keep living as ‘Rani’ or come out as a man? Director Madhu Chandra uses humour and satire to bring this narrative to life by touching on important topics such as elitism and societal expectations while celebrating the transformative and healing power of art. Based on Lee’s own life and experience, the film is a hilarious and heartwarming journey of self-discovery and personal reinvention and chase after the American dream.“Mr Rani” tells a classic, relatable story about identity, how it ebbs and flows over time, and the bravery it takes to escape conventional moulds. With its audacious storytelling and Deepak Subramanya’s mesmerizing, transformative performance, critics have called the film a game changer and a milestone in contemporary Kannada cinema.